Straw-stacker.



Patented Jan. 30, I900. .1. N. WILSON.

STRAW STAOKER.

(Application filed July 17. 1899.)

5 SheetsSheet I.

(No Model.)

A far:

kfrya mww. J/W,

2 Jam 77. MZw/z Patented Ian. 30, I900.

J. N. WILSON.

STRAW STAGKER.

(Application filed July '17, 1899.)

5 Sheeis-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

J mav /7. 1%

Tn: Noam: PETERS cu. FNOTD-LITHO wksmmrrpu, D4 c.

No. 642,406. Patented Jan. 30, I900.

J. N. WILSON.

STRAW STACKER.

(Application filad July 17, 1899.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

m: "amps Pmns co. Pnamurno. msnmcmu. a. c

No. 642,406. Patented Jan. 30, I900.

J. N. WILSON.

STRAW STACKER.

(Application filed July 17. 1899.

5 Sheets$heet 4 (No Model.)

m: NORM! PETERS co, PHO'TO-LIYHO.. WASNINGTCN. n. c.

No. 642,406. Patented Jan. 30, I900. J. N. WILSON.

STRAW STACKER.

(Application filed July 17. 1899.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

N 1 E u H L l a W l 1/ III/HI! L. wk k. w

Z% $z esss, X/ J L;

turn STATES PATENT Fries.

JAMES N. WILSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO 0. H. LEONARD AND R. S. ASHTON, OF PIPESTONE, MINNESOTA;

STRAW-STACKEFi.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,406, dated January 30, 1900 Application filed July 17, 1899. $erial No. 724,025. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES N.WILsON, a citizen of the United States, residing at. Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw-Stackers; and

I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

' such as will enable others skilled in the art to IO which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to straw-stackers of the general character set forth and claimed in my Patent No. 630,279, of date August 1, 1899, entitled StraW'Stacker, and has for its ob- [5 ject to improve the same in the several particulars hereinafter noted.

To these ends my invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein, like characters indicating like part-s throughout the several views- Figure 1 is a view in right-side elevation with some parts broken away, showing a portion of a thresher with my improved stacker applied thereto. Fig. 1 is a view in rightside elevation with some parts broken away,

0 showing the outer portion of the stacker, said view being supplemental to Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a view in left-side elevation, showing the parts of the thresher and stacker illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 2" is a view in left-side ele- 3 5 vation, showinga section of the stacker illustrated in Fig. 1, said view being supplemental to Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the stacker-s11 pportin g connection. Fig. i is a detail in front elevation, showing a guiding device for the stacker-supporting connection. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section with some parts shown in full, taken approximately centrally through the parts illustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. 5-- is a Vertical longitudinal section of the outer portion of the stacker, said view being supplemental to Fig. 5. Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken through a portion of a stacker approximately on the line x of Fig. 5. Fig.

50 7 is a plan view of a portion of the stackertruok. Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through a portion of the lower end of the stacker. Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation with some parts sectioned and others removed, showing the chain-tightener which cooperates with the strawcarrierdriving chain. Fig. 10 is a horizontal section taken on the line 00 00 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a detail view, in front elevation, showing a portion of the stacker-hood with one of my improved 6.0 curtain-holders applied thereto. Fig. 12 is a transverse section taken approximately on the line 00 x of Fig. 1. Fig. 13 is a plan view illustrating the means by which the stacker-truck is connected to the stackerframe and the rear axle thereof. Fig. let is a transverse section taken. approximately on the line 03 41: of Fig. 5 looking toward the thresher; and Fig. 15 is a detail View, in longitudinal verticalsection, illustrating the relation of the straw-delivery hood to the receiving end of the stacker.

Of the ordinary parts of the stacker it is sufficient for the purposes of this case to specifically note the stacker-case 1, the hood 2, the rear wheels 3, the rear axle 4, and the straw-delivery shoe 5.

I support the lower end of the stacker on atruck whichis pivotally connected or hinged with freedom for vertical movements to the rear portion of the thresher-frame. In the illustration given the frame a. of the stackertruck is of skeleton form and is pivoted atits forward end by means of a shaft a to hingestraps a which in turn are detachably secured to the adjacent beams of the stackerframe by means of nutted bolts a At its free or outer end the frame a is supported by a wheel-beam a which is pivoted thereto at its intermediate portion by a pivotbolt a which permits it to oscillate in a vertical plane transversely of the frame a. At its end the wheel-beam a is provided with caster-wheels a, the upper ends of the easter-brackets ct beingsecured by vertical 9 5 swivels a to the ends of the said wheel-beam. Links or connect the ends of the said wheelbeam with the sides of the frame a, and while they permit said beam the necessary vertical movements they hold the said wheelbeam against oscillation in a horizontal plane, and thereby relieve the pivot-bolt a from strains which would otherwise be put upon the same in turning a curve with the machine.

On its upper face the truck-frame a is provided with an annular track or supportingring a and on this track the wheelsb of an oscillating frame I) are mounted to work to support the said frame. Rigidly secured on and carried by the oscillating frame I) is a broad and longitudinally-extended rectangular frame 0, which,with the arrangement illustrated, constitutes what may be well considered as the receiving-section of the stacker. This stacker-section c has a deck-section c and is provided at its outer end with a transversely-extended hinge stripor leaf 0 for a purpose which will be presently noted. Above the deck 0 the sides of the frame 0 are provided with inturned flanges c and at its inner end the frame cis provided with a transversely-extended shaft 0, which is provided with a pair of laterally-spaced sprockets 0 The vibrating straw-delivery shoe 5 is provided with an inclined and stepped or corrugated discharge-section d, which overlies the sprocket c and the inner end of the deck 0.

The stacker proper is made up of a bodysection fand an extensible section f. The body-sectionfis pivoted at its lower end to the outer portion of the frame-section c in the oscillating frame Z). This pivotal or hinge joint is in the illustration given in the drawings formed by pivotally connected straps or hinge-irons f that are rigidly secured to the said sections f and c. A transverse shaft h pivotally connects the irons f To the under edges of the sides of the stacker-section f long racks f 3 are rigidly secured, as best shown in Fig. 6. The extensible stacker-section f is mounted to work extensibly or telescopically immediately below the said racks f and to suitably mount the said stacker-section f on said section f the racks f are provided with inwardly-projected ledges or flanges f, and said stackersection f is provided with a plurality of keeper straps or brackets f the upper ends of which are hooked or bent, so as to engage over the adjacent flangesf of the said racksf Suitably mounted in the lower or inner end of the extensible stacker-seetionf' is a transverse shaftf, that is provided near each end with a pinionf which meshes with the corresponding adjacent rack f By positively rotating the shaftf and pinionsf the extensible stacker-section may be given its desired movements. This positive movement of said shaft and pinions is effected by a novel device, to be hereinafter noted.

The stacker-sectionsfand f are provided, respectively, with decks f and f Near its upper end and above'the upper end of the deck f the stacker-section f is provided with a transverse shaft f which in turn is provided with a laterally-spaced pair of sprockets f.

The delivery end of the extensible stackersection f is turned downward, as shown at f, to afford a better delivery of the straw to the stack, as set forth and claimed in my prior patent, above noted. Mounted in suitable bearings at the junction of the sections f and f is a transverse shaft f and at the outer end of said section f is another transverse shaft f which shafts are provided, respectively, with pairs of sprockets f and f. A short deck f on the section f extends between the sprockets f and f Depending from the stacker-section f, below the shaft f, one at each side of the machine, is a pair of guide-bracketsf in which bearing-boxes f are free to move up and down. Said boxes f have depending stems f, on which springs f are placed to yieldingly hold said boxes upward. A transverse shaftf, provided with a pair of sprocketsf, is mounted in said pair of bearing-boxes f At the outer end and at each side of the body-sectionfof the stacker is a pairof brackets f which are provided at their lower ends with retainingrollers f that engage the under edge of the extensible stacker-section f and form a support, over which the same may be freely extended or retracted.

' The free or movable end of the stacker is supported by a device which in its broader features is the same as that claimed in my patent above mentioned; but the device herein illustrated embodies some minor novel features. Of the parts of the construction illustrated, 9 indicates a floating lever, provided at its ends with antifriction guide-pulleys g, held by sockets 9 I g are ropes or flexible connections that run one over each of the guide-pulleys g, each having one end attached to the extensible stacker-section f and another end attached to the body-section f, this latter connection, as shown, being made directly to a bracket 9 on the said section 1'. As shown, a pair of ropes g are connected to the central portion of the floating lever g, and at their other ends these ropes are wound on a Windlass-shaft g, mounted in suitable bearings on the top of the th resher-frame and provided with a sprocket 9 On their way from the lever g to the shaft g the supporting-ropes 9 pass over a guiding device formed by a horizontal roller 9 and three vertical rollers g, which rollers are all suitably mounted in a supporting-frame g rigidly secured on the top and forward portion of the thresher-frame 1. The roller 9 resists the downward strain on the ropes g and the rollers g resist the lateral strains which are put upon the said ropes when the stacker is swung from side to side.

To enable the operator to readily control the winding and unwinding movements of the Windlass-shaft g, a sprocket-chain g is run over the sprocket g on said Windlass-shaft and over a lower sprocket 9/ which is suitably mounted in a bracket 9 on the side of the thresher-frame and is provided with the crank-handle g, by means of which it may be turned, and with a ratchet-wheel 9 with and over the decks c and f of the stackersections 0 and f, respectively.

On its way up and in passing the pivotal connection f between the sections fand c the sprocketchains k run under inwardly projected guide strips or flanges on the lower ends of the side strips of said section f, the lower ends of these straps 70 being turned upward to insure the proper entry of the slats is. In passing downward under the said hinge f the chain passes under and is guided by antifriction guide-wheels or idlers k The hinged leaf 0*, heretofore noted as connected to the outer edge of the deck 0 of the receivin g-section of the stacker, overlaps thelower and inner end of the stackerf and keeps the gap between the sections f and 0 always closed with a smooth joint, so that the straw, as well as the endless conveyer la is, may freely pass. An endless conveyer made up of slats n and sprocket-chains n runs over sprockets 0 on a transverse shaft 0, which shaft is mounted in the lower end of the extensible stacker-section f, and also over the sprockets j and f on the shafts f and f, respectively, and over the sprockets f on the shaft f of the belttightener.

The driving connections for the endless conveyers of the stacker will now be considered.

At one end the shaft a, which is located at the pivotal connection between the stackertruck and the thresher frame, is provided with a sprocket p and at its other end with a pulley 1), over which pulley a powerdriven belt (not shown) would run. A sprocketchain 19 runs over the sprocket p and over another sprocket p on one end of the transversely-extended shaft 10 mounted in bearingsp on the under side of the truck-fra me a. A short vertical shaft 29, mounted in suitable bearings 19 on the frame a and at the axis of the annular track at is provided at its lower end with a bevel-gear p and at its upper end with a bevel-gearp A bevel-gear p on the shaft 19 meshes with a pinion p ,and the bevelwheel 19 on a transverse shaft p meshes with a pinion or bevel-gear 19 The shaftp is mounted in suitable bearings carried by the oscillating frame I), and at one endas shown, its left-hand endit is provided with a sprocket 19 A sprocket-chain 19 runs over the sprocket p and over a sprocket p on the shaft 0 which drives the endless conveyer 70 It. At its right-hand end the said shaft 0 is provided with a sprocket 10 over which and another sprocket p on the righthand end of the shaft h a sprocket-chain 10 runs. is provided with another sprocket 19 over which and the sprocket 19 which is loosely At its right-hand end the said shaft h I 'mounted on the right-hand'side of the stacker section f, near its outer end, a long sprocketchain p is mounted to run. On its righthand end the shaft 0, heretofore noted as being mounted in the lower end of the extensible stacker section, is provided with a sprocket p ,which is loosely mounted thereon, but is provided with pawls 19 which cooperate with the ratchet-wheel p and is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured on the said shaft 0. The pawls p and cooperating ratchetwheel 19 cause the said sprocket p to positively drive the endless conveyer of the extensible stacker-section when said sprocket is driven in the direction indicated by the,

arrow marked on Fig. 9, but permit the said sprocket to move without action on the said conveyer when turned in a reverse direction. The purpose of this construction will more clearly appear a little later on. The sprocketchain p which runs over the sprockets p and 19 runs under and in engagement with said sprocket p and the said chain is held for a proper engagement with the said sprocket p by a pair of idlersp as shown in the form of sprockets which are mounted in the opposite ends of a lever or support 19 which is pivoted on the shaft 0.

As is obvious, when the pulley p is driven in the proper direction motion will be transmitted through the intermediate connections described, and the endless conveyers kit and n n will be driven as indicated by the arrow marked on Figs. 5 and 5. The downwardlymoving under portion of the endless conveyer 70 70 will under the driving action be kept taut, while the upwardly-moving upper section of the same will be kept slack, thus causing but very little friction due to the turning of the conveyer at the hinge or pivot between the sections f and c. 7

Were it not for the pawl-and-ratchet device p and p the downward or inward movement of the extensible stacker-section at a time when the stacker is idle and its driving mechanism stationary would run the endless conveyer of the said extensible stacker-section backward; but with the said pawl-andratchetdevice the pawl member slips over the ratchet member and prevents such backwarddriving action.

As previously stated, to extend the extensiblestacker-section requiresa positive movement of the rack-engaging pinionsf which are on the shaft 1". The device which lemploy to accomplish this result is somewhat similar to the device just illustrated and which is shown on the right-hand side of the machine for imparting motion to the conveyer of the extensible stacker-section. This device may be briefly described as follows: The body-section f of the stacker is provided at its upper and lower ends, respectively, and on its left-hand side with a pair of sprockets a" and r, the former of which is an idler or guide sprocket and the other of which is a driver and is suitably mounted in a bracket r on the said stacker-section f. The driving-sprocket T has a hand-crank r and a ratchet-wheel W A retaining-pawl r pivoted on the side of the stacker-section f, cooperates with said ratchet wheel o A sprocket chain r runs over the sprocketwheels 0' and r and under and in engagement with the sprocket-wheel T", which is rigid on the left-hand end of the shaft f The chain 0' is guided and held for proper engagement with the sprocket r by means of a pair of chain tighteners or guides 7 ,Whl(3ll, as shown, are in the form of sprocket-wheels and are mounted one in each end of a lever or support 1*, which is pivoted at its intermediate portion on the shaft f With this construction by turning the hand-crank r the chain 0" may be moved either in one direction or the other at will, and the sprocketa, shaft f and pinions f may be turned in either desired direction. As before stated, by turning the pinions f in one direction or the other they may be caused to travel over the cooperating racks f and thereby extend or retract the extensible stacker-section f. As the sprocket r is rotated by the movement of the sprocketchain r it will travel either upward or downward over said chain, and this movement is permitted without varying the slack of the chain to any material extent by the action of the cooperating chain guides or sprockets 0, which travel with the said sprocket a. As is evident, the retaining-pawl r previously noted, serves to lock the sprocket-chain r, so that the extensible stacker-section f will be held wherever set against the action of gravity.

The body-section of the stacker is provided with longitudinally-extended wind-shields s, that project upward from the sides thereof and are preferably detachably secured to a plurality of small keepers s. The extensible stacker-section f is provided with longitudinally-extended wind-shields that project upward from the sides thereof and overlap the sides of the stacker-section f. These windshields s are arranged to clear all parts of the driving-gear and other parts of the stacker, so that they do not interfere with the adjustments of the extensible stacker-section.

The hood 2 of the thresher is formed or provided with a hinged and segmental delivery-section 2, which, as will be noted by reference to Fig. 2, is turned inward, so that it will delivery the chaff and straw blown against it backward toward the center of the receiving-section c of the stacker. The section 2 being adjustable permits the same to be set in different positions, so as to vary its po7int of delivery onto the endless conveyer t.

It is desirable to discharge or deliver the straw and chaff onto the oscillating receiving-section c of the stacker at its central portion or on a transverse line approximately intercepting its pivot for the reason that the forward portion of said section a is vibrated out of line with the most outwardly extended portion of the hood.

The openings at the sides of the hood 2 and above the receiving-section c of the stacker are normally closed by vertically-adj ustable curtains t, which are tacked or otherwise secured to the said hood at their upper edges and are provided at their lower edges with cleats t. The cleats i are adj ustably secured at their inner ends between the sides of the stacker-frame 1 and guide-rods t the ends of which are screw-threaded and passed through the sides of said stackerframe and provided at their outer ends with thumb-nuts t as best shown in Fig. 12. At their outer ends said cleats t are pivoted to the lower ends of vertical rods tflwhich work vertically through projecting supports 19 from the hood 2 and are adjustably secured thereto by set-screws Z".

The side curtains 25 may be easily raised at their inner ends, so as to give easy access to the screens and interior mechanism of the threshing-machine for the purpose of inspection or repair, simply by pushing the inner ends of the strips upward, the depending end of the supporting-rod i serving as a pivot for the cooperating cleat t.

In traveling a curve with the threshingmachine having the stackentruckand stacker attached thereto a great deal of strain would naturally be put upon the pivotal connection between the truck-frame and the thresherframe. To relieve this pivotal connection as much as possible from such strains, I connect the rear portion or free end of the stacker-truck frame a to the rear axle 4 of the thresher by means of a pair of crossed tie-rods w, this construction being bestillustrated in Fig. 13.

When the threshing-machine, with the attachment above described, is drawn over uneven ground, and all ground is of course more or less uneven, the pivotal connection between the thresher-frame and the stackertruck frame a will permit the rear or outer end of the stacker to move up and down with respect to the wheels of the threlshingmachine, and the pivotal connection between said truck-frame a and the wheel-beam a will permit the caster-wheels a to raise and lower one with respect to the other. These noted adjustments prevent the weight of the machine and attachment from being shifted from one wheel to the other in undue proportion in running over irregular ground, and thus prevent excessive strains on the framework of the machine and other parts. The caster-wheels permit the free lateral movements of the rear end of the truck-frame in traveling curves. All these actions contribute to give the most satisfactory results.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combination with a thresher, of a stacker and a stacker-truck, said truck comprising a frame pivoted or hinged to the thresher frame for vertical movements, a wheel-beam pivoted to the free or rear portion of said truck-frame, anda pair of supportingwheels mounted on said wheel-beam, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a thresher, of a stacker and a stacker-truck, said truck comprising a frame pivoted orhinged to said thresher-frame for vertical movements, a wheelbeam pivoted at its intermediate portion to the free or rear portion of said truckframe, and provided on opposite sides of its pivot with caster-wheels, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a stacker, of a stacker-truck upon which said stacker is mounted, said truck comprising a frame, a wheel beam or support pivoted to the rear portion of said frame and provided on the opposite sides of its pivot with supporting- Wheels, and links or connections tying the free ends of said wheel-beam to said truck-frame, but permitting the free vertical oscillations of the same, substantially as described.

l. The combination with a stacker having an extensible section, of a rack on the body-,

section of said stacker, a pinion mounted on the extensible stacker-section and meshing with said rack, and a device for moving said pinion comprising a sprocket connected there to, a sprocket-chain running over the said sprocket and over suitable guides, anda driving-sprocket on the body-section of said stacker engaging said sprocket-chain, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a stacker having an extensible stacker-section, of a rack on the body-section, a pinion carried by the extensible stacker-section and meshing with the said rack, and a device for rotating said pinion comprising a driven sprocket movable with said pinion, a pair of cooperatingchain-guides one on each side of said sprocket, a sprocketchain running over said driven sprocket and its cooperating chain-guides, and a drivingsprocket mounted on the body-section and engaging said sprocket-chain, the said parts operating substantially as described.

6. The combination with a stacker having an extensible section, of the racks f on the body-sectionof said stacker, the transverse shaft f carried by said extensible stackersection and provided with the pair of pinions f meshing one with each of the racks f, the driven sprocket r on said shaft f, the lever or wheel-support r mounted on said extensible stacker-section, and provided with the pair of guide wheels or sprockets T the sprocket-chain 4" running over said driven sprocket r and guide-sprockets r and over suitable guides on the body-section of the stacker, said latter guides comprising the sprocket r provided with a hand-crank r substantially as described.

7. A stacker constructed with an extensible section, provided with longitudinally and vertically extended wind-shields that are formed independent of the sides of said extensible stacker-section and overlap the sides of the body-section of the stacker and telescope therewith without interference with the driving mechanism, or other parts, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a stacker having an extensible stacker-section, of endless conveyers running over said stacker-sections,and means for driving the conveyer of said extensible section comprisinga driven sprocket chain running over suitable guides on the body-section of the stacker, a sprocket on the extensible stacker-section driven by said sprocket-chain and in turn driving the endless conveyer thereof, and a one-way clutch in the connection between said driven sprocket and the conveyer driven thereby, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a stacker having an extensible section, of endless conveyors mounted on the said stacker-sections, and a drive for the conveyer of the extensible stacker section, comprising sprockets or wheels on the lower stacker-section, a driven sprocket or wheel on the lower end of the extensible stacker-section, a flexible endless driving connection running over the said wheels, a bracket or lever pivoted for movement on the axis of said driven wheel, a pair of guide projections one at each end of said pivoted bracket or lever engaging the said driving connection on opposite sides of said driven wheel, and a one-way clutch in the connection between said driven wheel and the conveyer driven thereby, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. The combination with a stacker having an extensible section, of a rack on the body section of the stacker,'a pinion mounted on the extensible section and meshing with said rack, and means for rotating said pinion comprising a driven sprocket-wheel rotating with said pinion, a driving-sprocket and a guide sprocket or wheel on the body section of the stacker, a lever or bracket pivoted on the axis of said pinion and said driven sprocket, a pair of guide projections one on each end of said pivoted bracket or lever, and a sprocketchain running over said driving-sprocket and guide sprocket or wheel on the said body-sew tion and over the said driven sprocket and chain-guides of the extensible stacker section, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a stacker having an extensible section, of the racks f on the body-section of the stacker, provided with the extended flanges the transverse shaft f on the extensible section having the pinions f meshing with said racks f and the straps or brackets f secured to said extensible stacker-section and engaging the said rack flanges f to secure said extensible stacker-section for longitudinal movements on the said body-section, substantially as de scribed.

12. The combination with a thresher provided at the rear side portions of its case or framework with the clamping-rods t with screw-threaded ends and nuts i of the side curtains t secured at its upper edge and provided at its lower free edge with the strip or cleat t, and the adjusting-rods 25 working through supports 25 and subject to set-screws i, said parts operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination with a thresher, of side curtains pivotally supported at their outer ends from the rear side portions of the thresher-case and free for vertical movements at their inner ends, for affording ready access to the screens of the thresher, substantially as described.

14. The combination with a thresher, of a stacker-section or straw-delivery device receiving therefrom and mounted for lateral oscillations, and a hood projecting rearward from said thresher-case and provided With a segmental straw-delivery section, which delivery-section is hinged or adj ustably secured to the body-section of said hood, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

15. The combination with a thresher, of adjustable side curtains applied to the rear end thereof, Which side curtains are pivotally connected at their outer portions for vertical adjustments at their inner portions, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

J AMES N. WILSON.

iVitnesses:

MABEL M. MoGRoRY, F. D. 1VIEROHANT. 

